THE
THE OFFICIAL DATE OF OUR 200TH
BIRTHDAY
BIRTHDAY IS MARCH 15. WE'VE BEEN REPORTING ON THE EVENTS LEADING UP TO
STATEHOOD.THE STATEWIDE VOTES,4@
THE PASSIONS AND PROBLEMS THAT
LED MAINE TO WANT TO SEPARATE
FROM MASSACHUSETTS. 4@
BUT MAINE'S MARCH TO STATEHOOD
ALSO
ALSO RAN
ALSO RAN INTO A NATIONAL CRISIS-- ONE THAT HAS ECHOED THROUGH AMERICAN4@
HISTORY.
HERE'S DON CARRIGAN.
4@
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO THIS
MONTH, THIS PAPER.THE MAINE
CONSTITUTION, HAD ALREADY BEEN
WRITTEN AND RATIFIED BY THE
PEOPLE. THE ONLY REMAINING
OBSTACLE TO BECOMING A STATE
WAS THE U.S. CONGRESS.4@
SO THIS IS JUST AN EXPLOSIVE
MOMENT IN AMERICAN
NATIONAL POLITICS 4@
.WHERE IN JANUARY 1820, MAINE'S
PETITION FOR STATEHOOD
BECAME A KEY PART OF A NATIONAL
CRISIS. UNIVERSITY OF 4@
MAINE HISTORY PROFESSOR LIAM
RIORDAN.
..AND WHEN IT ARRIVES CONGRESS
HAD BEEN DEADLOCKED 4@
FOR MORE THAN A YEAR OVER THE
ADMISSION OF MISSOURI TO THE4@
US AS SLAVE STATE.
4@4@4@
4@4@4@ BUT FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF 1820, THIS WAS REALLY THE FIRST
TIME THE CONTROVERSY OVER
SLAVERY HAD ERUPTED ON A4@
NATIONAL SCALE SINCE WRITING
THE CONSTITUTION. AND THE FIRST
TIME PEOPLE WERE REALLY GETTING
HEATED FROM THE HALLS OF4@
CONGRESS DOWN TO THE AVERAGE
PERSON ON THE STREET. 4@
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IS
OPPOSED, TO ALLOWING
MISSOURI TO JOIN THE UNION AS A
SLAVE STATE, THE SENATE
SUPPORTS
IT AND NEITHER SIDE WILL BUDGE.
SLAVE STATE, THE SENATE SUPPORTS IT AND NEITHER SIDE WILL BUDGE.@
AND INTO THAT DEADLOCK COMES
MAINE.4@
THE COUNTRY WAS EVENLY DIVIDED
WITH SLAVE AND FREE
STATES.WHEN MISSOURI SOUGHT TO
JOIN THE UNION.. AND FOR4@
THE FIRST TIME TAKE SLAVERY
4@
4@ WEST
4@ WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. MAINE SEEMED TO OFFER AN EASY
ANSWER. A NEW FREE STATE TO 4@
BALANCE THE NEW SLAVE STATE.
BUT
BUT FREEMAN AND RIORDAN SAY THE PASSIONS AGAINST SLAVERY WERE INTENSE IN THE MAN4@Y NORTHERN
STATES. THOUGH NOT NECESSARILY
IN MAINE. 4@4@
EVEN4@ THOUGH THEY WERE NOT GOI
TO BE PRO- ABOLITION OR PRO-4@
EMANCIPATION AT THIS POINT IN
1819
1819 1820, THEY RESENTED HAVING MAINE BE TIED TO THE EXPANSION OF SLAVERY. 4@
BUT TIED THEY WERE. WITH BOTH
STATEHOOD, AND THE SLAVERY IN 4@
THE BALANCE. FINALLY THE GREAT
COMPROMISE. LET MISSOURI AND
MAINE BOTH IN. AND CREATE A
DIVIDING
DIVIDING LINE. CALLED THE 36-30 LINE. AND TO ESTABLISH THE SOUTHERN
BORDER OF MISSOURI WHICH IS
AT 36 30 LINE..RIGHT HERE? YES
THE BLACK DOTTED LINE..
.DEFINING WHERE SLAVERY COULD
AND COULD NOT EXPAND. NEXT. 4@4@
BUT MANY IN THE NORTH FOUGHT
THE
THE COMPROMISE. THE FINAL VOTE CAME THAT MARCH, 1820.4@ IT ONLY PASSES THE HOUSE BY A
VOTE OF 90 TO 87.
AND I GUESS WHAT I FIND MOST
INTERESTING IS THERE ARE 7
CONGRESSMEN FROM THE DISTRICT OF
MAINE AT THIS POINT. FIVE ARE 4@
OPPOSED TO STATEHOOD VIA THIS
4@
4@ ROUTE
4@ ROUTE AT THIS POINT , AND ONLY TWO ARE IN FAVOR.
BUT THE VOTES WERE ENOUGH.
MARCH 15, 1820, MAINE BECAME THE
23RD STATE.
AND LATER THAT YEAR MAINE'S
FIRST GOVERNOR, STATEHOOD 4@
LEADER WILLIAM KING, CALLED FOR
A KIND OF THANKSGIVING4@
CELEBRATION.
CELEBRATION.
DR.
DR. FREEMAN SAYS THERE WERE ABOUT A THOUSAND AFRICAN AMERICANS LIVING IN
PORTLAND AT THE TIME OF
STATEHOOD. SIX YEARS LATER THEY
WOULD BUILD TH4@E ABYSSINIAN
MEETING HOUSE .WHICH IS STILL
HERE. BUT WHILE THEY LIVED AND
WORK AS FREE MAINERS, IN HALF
THE COUNTRY SLAVERY WAS
UNCHANGED BY THE MISSOURI
COMPROMISE. AND THE HISTORIANS
SAY THT AFTER 1820,. SLAVERY
WOULD ACTUALLY INCREASE.
MY TAKE WOULD BE THE MISSOURI CO
CALLED COMPROMISE SHOVES IT BACK
UNDERGROUND AND ALLOWS PEOPLE
NOT TO
DEAL WITH THE ISSUE IN
MAINSTREAM POLIT4@ICS FOR ANOTH
NOT TO DEAL WITH THE ISSUE IN MAINSTREAM POLIT4@ICS FOR ANOTH@
THREE DECADES.
THREE DECADES THAT WOULD4@ SEE E
MARCH TOWARD CIVIL WAR.
AND THE HISTORIANS SAY WITH 200
YEARS OF HINDSIGHT, THE Y
WONDER IF THE COMPROMISE WAS
WORTH THE COST. .
SOMETIMES A LOT OF VALUE IS
PLACED IN COMPROMISE, OR
BEING MODERATE IN CERTAIN ISSUE,
BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE4@
MISSOURI
MISSOURI COMPROMISE AND THE ISSUE OF SLAVE4@RY I WOULD4@4@ AGREE WITH ABOLITIONISTS THERE
IS NO ROOM FOR COMPROMISE
ON THE ISSUE OF SLAVERY.4@
BUT STARTING IN 1820, MAINE WAS
A FU4@LL FLEDGED STATE. AND FOR
YEARS LATER, WOULD LOSE MORE
THAN SEVEN THOUSAND OF ITS4@
SONS TO THE CIVIL WAR. IN
PORTLAND, DON CARRIGAN, NEWS
CENTER
MAINE.4@
CENTER MAINE.4@ 4@
MAINE.4@ 4@ WE'D LIKE TO THANK THE
"HISTORICAL ATLAS OF MAINE" AND
THE
FOGLER LIBRARY'S SPECIAL
COLLECTIONS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
MAINE FO4@R THEIR HELP IN THAT
STORY.